Ahead of the adoption of his draft opinion on 'Delivering the global climate agreement - a territorial approach to COP 22 in Marrakesh' by next week's CoR plenary session, we met with PES rapporteur Francesco Pigliaru, President of the Region of Sardinia (Italy).
You are the European Committee of the Regions' rapporteur for the COP22, the 22nd Session of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which will be held in Marrakesh from 7 to 18 November 2016. What do you hope to see achieved during the negotiations?
The opinion adopted unanimously by the Committee of the Regions' ENVE commission last June highlights the need to make the Paris Agreement operational and to go beyond the commitments made by the parties in December 2015. These commitments will not be enough on their own to meet the overall climate target and this is why we are calling for greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced by 50% by 2030 and for regions and towns to be more involved in the UNFCCC process.
In order to meet the climate agreement's objectives, mitigation and adaptation measures must be integrated and rolled out in sectoral and development policies, with greater coordination and reinforcement of the various tiers of governance.
Support for research and innovation is also imperative if scientific knowledge and progress are to underpin the planning and implementation of policies to combat climate change.
Lastly, regions and towns must be guaranteed access to funding, sweeping aside the barriers keeping them from tapping the instruments available at EU level and helping to attract private funding.
What role will the Committee of the Regions be playing in the COP22?
The CoR will be an observer in the official European delegation to the COP22 and is working on various initiatives and seminars to take place during the Conference of the Parties in Marrakesh.
Our goal is to shine a spotlight on regions and towns as they have close ties to local communities and territories and which play a pivotal role in guaranteeing dialogue and public participation. Most of all, we want to show that in many cases towns and regions are leading the fight to curb emissions and adapt to aspects of climate change which are now inevitable.
Our support for the European Union Covenant of Mayors - which will become a global initiative in Marrakesh – will be a vital step in encouraging local and regional communities to adopt the many positive examples that abound. We will strive to bring our hands-on experience to bear in discussions with the international partners and countries.
Regions and towns are often the driving force behind climate protection. Could you give us an example of how people in your region of Sardinia are combating climate change?
In the field of adaptation policies, Sardinia called for and now coordinates an interregional forum on the national strategy for adapting to climate change (SNAC, in Italian), with a view to promoting and monitoring the delivery of regional strategies and plans which are in line with the national strategy.
As regards mitigation policies, Sardinia has initiated the Under 2°C Protocol, undertaking to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 83% by 2050 in cooperation with the other regions which have signed up to the protocol, and has helped dozens of municipalities to join the Covenant of Mayors.
The regional environment plan, which vigorously endorses the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency, was approved this year, and a number of key sustainable mobility policies were rolled out.
We are currently updating the regional plan on municipal waste, in line with the main targets of the 7th Environment Action Programme (7th EAP), and a legislative proposal on integrated management of municipal waste is about to be submitted; this should support the shift to a circular economy.
As the newly appointed coordinators of the Conference of Regions' environment and energy commission, we are promoting these principles across all of Italy's regions.
